Why use a motor drive attachment?

[Huss]

FM2N fits horribly in my hand, no matter the lens. Slap on the MD-12, fits like a glove.

Best,
-Tim

TBH I love it even w/ small lenses like the CV 40 f2 or Nikkor 45 2.8P.
The camera just feels so ready to go.

 

[Dogman]

Probably totally naive but I can't quite grasp why anyone would choose to use a motor drive unless it was totally necessary to take rapid-fire photos (which you wouldn't on film unless you love wasting money).

Why would I choose to double the size and weight of my camera (potentially an exaggeration) and add a horrible conspicuous noise merely for the non-benefit of no longer having to move my right thumb slightly? It just seems like a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

The only sensible reason I can think of is to make photography easier for people with arthritis.

They were extremely useful when I was doing newspaper photography. Really, they were essential for sports and some news events. It was much easier to handle lenses like a manual focus 300/2.8 when you didn't have to manipulate an advance lever. It was also possible to handhold a flash without juggling equipment. I've mounted a remote camera on aircraft before, something impossible to do at the time without a motor drive. The utility of motor drives was obvious after using them for a short time. So much so that we were willing to carry the extra weight and put up with the noise.

Conversely to your question, imagine how utterly silly it would seem if people had to move a lever every time wanted to take a picture with today's digital cameras.

 

[Keith]

And now we have the A9R supposedly capable of twenty frames per second ... with it's origins firmly coming from the humble motor drive. 😱

 

[gavinlg]

I grip/motor wind most of my cameras If I can - simply because I like the feel of a gripped body.

And now we have the A9R supposedly capable of twenty frames per second ... with it's origins firmly coming from the humble motor drive. 😱

Only with the electric shutter, the mechanical shutter is limited to 5fps .

 

[Rob-F]

And besides, many Nikons have the motor drive built right in. I've had several: N8008, F100, N90s, F4.

 

[Dralowid]

A motor drive is used to consume huge amounts of film thereby keeping demand up and that industry in business.

 

[ruby.monkey]

It's cheaper than going to the gym.

And, to be honest, an F3 seems naked without one.

 

[John Bragg]

I use a Winder 2 on both my Om 1n cameras. It just balances and feels better.

 

[Alfonso B]

So this escalated from "film makes all the sense in the world but winders, why do they even exist?" to become the "official motor drive love" thread pretty quick. Mods should change the name 🙂

 

[sevo]

So this escalated from "film makes all the sense in the world but winders, why do they even exist?"

Oh, was that meant as a "why did manufacturers ever remove such a core function from their cameras and make it a bolt-on" question, as people born after the big AF divide might put it?

 

[Alfonso B]

No, It was more of a statement of shooting film being a purely emotional choise as well as using a motor drive. Photography as an art form would likely suffer from the death of film about as much as computers suffered from the death of floppies.

But yeah, it's funny how tech seems to constantly move from modular to integrated. I wrote this using my walkman-calculator-encyclopedia-telefax-television thingy. I still miss my c-cassettes though 🙂

 

[Alpsman]

Because of the sound 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDXFB5RJERc
I really needed the motordrive on the F2 when I took pictures of blastings.

 

[skopar steve]

I like a motor drive as an accessory, not built in. Use it mostly for a quick follow up shot. Down side is the noise. So in situations where noise is a concern I simply remove the drive.

 

[Robert Lai]

I used motor drives on my cameras just to take pictures of my children with. From toddlerhood onwards, they move quite fast.
AF would probably help too, but if I can keep my eye to the finder, I can concentrate on focus and framing. I let the camera take care of the exposure too.

The best motorized cameras for me are those with auto-exposure:
Leica M7 + Motor M
Nikon F3 with MD-4

 

[Mackinaw]

I use motor winders for portrait photography. They allow me to concentrate on the subject I’m photographing, not on the mechanics of advancing the film.

Jim B.

 

[BillBingham2]

... (which you wouldn't on film unless you love wasting money).........

My 2 cents is for balancing long/large glass (e.g. 180/2.8, 300/4.5) on my SLRs and on my Leicas I had a rapidwinder on them if I was shooting something live/moving. I bought the Leica Motor and didn't love the kick back I felt on the shutter release.

I rarely ever (read don't ever remember ever, but never say never....) did a spray and pray that might "love wasting money" but that's me. The balance improvements on my FMs and long glass was worth the extra weight.

B2 (;->

 

[ABrosig]

I will echo what many have said. Particularly for me, in photojournalism, winders/motor-drives were essential. And I shoot left-eyed, so not having to pull camera away to advance saved many shots otherwise I would have missed. Also, my big ham-hands: A lot of cameras just don't feel comfortable in my hand without a drive; That's particularly true of the modern digitals (Talking Nikon almost exclusively here, being what I personally shoot). Most of the time, my drives/digital cameras are on single-frame advance because I just don't need to shoot high-speed/frame rate.

As has also been said, unless shooting PJ/Action/Wildlife, high FPS isn't really a necessity. But, another benefit is, if shooting at slower shutter speeds, sometimes shooting a burst can help minimize camera shake. I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but I've found the second or third image of a burst will just be inherently sharper than the first one shot with a slow shutter speed, I think because by the time the shutter trips second or third time, I've "settled in" to the shooting stance. Best I can do explaining it.

 

[Huss]

The best motorized cameras for me are those with auto-exposure:
Leica M7 + Motor M
Nikon F3 with MD-4

I absolutely hated the Motor M when I had it for my M7. Hated the bouncy recoil in the shutter button that would shake the camera.
If the drive has a grip, it should have a shutter release button on that grip.
Luckily I bought it for very little money on ebay, and was able to sell it for more on craigslist.

 

[Dralowid]

Significant biceps, ear defenders and oh yes, 10 AA batteries (if you can't find the external power pack) then you are good to go! The kit can also be used as an anvil, anchor or anything requiring something hard, heavy and solid.

SL MOT by dralowid, on Flickr

 

[Scrambler]

Conversely to your question, imagine how utterly silly it would seem if people had to move a lever every time wanted to take a picture with today's digital cameras.

OK, not perhaps todays digital camera - but the R-D1 does have a lever you need to move to take each digital photo. And you can't even get an external winder for it.

And, like film, it's utterly cool. Or so I keep telling myself 🙂